[TC14] Explorer

[m00se]

Hi everyone

This is my first post, but I've been following the Technic forum for a few months since I started to picked up Lego Technic again (after a 12 year hiatus).

The themepark attraction I've been working on is lousely based on a Reverchon Explorer. In the middle of the ride an actuator makes the wheel go upward, but also lets it tilt. This tilting mechanism also turns, but not at the same speed as the wheel, creating a "dancing like" movement. The "wheel" has not been made yet, so the beams and two buckets you see here on top of the ride are just for testing purposes:

 

With the actuator raised:

 

Next up will be making the wheel which will add a lot of weight, so I hope it will still work smoothly.

 

I'm very well aware my Technic building capabilities are not even close to those of some of the geniuses around here, but I still decided to post as I hope your feedback would help me to improve my skills.

[pagicence]

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Edited June 5 by pagicence

[m00se]

I'm trying with free flowing seats just like the ride has in real life; however the rotational speed won't be high enough to really make them swing far outward.

 

Thanks for the suggestion about the rotational part of the Rough Terrain Crane. It does seem to be a more stable solution. I don't think I have the right parts to do something similar however.

[m00se]

Finished the wheel and the floor. It's starting to look more like a ride now.

I do realize my camera is not up to modern standards; please excuse me for that.

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

Does this only use parts from 42055?

[Corrado]

At the begining i was bot convinced, but now it starts look very intresting. :)

[Jim]

A bit late, but welcome to Eurobricks! And I really love your creation.

16 hours ago, BrickbyBrickTechnic said:

Does this only use parts from 42055?

I was (am) wondering myself too. That would even make it more interesting, since it is a genuine C-model.

PS I like how you used the extra curved gear racks  

[m00se]

Well spotted, that this indeed is made from 42055 parts. I've restarted building Technic about half a year ago when I bought this set. I'm still having lots of fun with it, so I haven't really had the urge yet to buy other sets (although the new Rough Terrain Crane looks nice...). Only downside of using the 42055 to build a funfair/themepark ride is the lack of fancy color in most of the part.

[Jim]

4 minutes ago, m00se said:

Well spotted, that this indeed is made from 42055 parts. I've restarted building Technic about half a year ago when I bought this set. I'm still having lots of fun with it, so I haven't really had the urge yet to buy other sets (although the new Rough Terrain Crane looks nice...).

Cool. And very bold action to join the contest with this set.

4 minutes ago, m00se said:

Only downside of using the 42055 to build a funfair/themepark ride is the lack of fancy color in most of the part.

Nope. For me that is no downside. The color scheme on the 42055 works great for the ride. And I think people will recognize the 42055 and see that this ride is very unique. So, I think it's not a downside at all.

Maybe you can call it the "Bucket Wheel Explorer" to emphasize that it's made with 42055 parts  

[Erik Leppen]

I really like the fact that this is a C model from 42055. Bonus points for that. (I see you used all the frames to build a sturdy base :P ) Using buckets for seats is a bit "abstract" but I think it's fine really, and emphasizes the C-model aspect more, I think.

Maybe you could use the many yellow axles from this set as railings? The gear quadrants are fine in the center ring, but I'm not convinced by their use as outer railings. Also, maybe you could "use" the fact that the dark-blue panels are rectangular instead of curved, and use angled shapes and straight lines for the outer railing, instead of circular shapes. Right now, the angled panels are a bit of a mismatch wit the curved railing.

(By the way, your pictures are fine.)

[m00se]

2 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

Maybe you could use the many yellow axles from this set as railings?

I did try that first, but came up short regarding the yellow connectors.

[m00se]

Added the stairs as a final touch:

The minifigs refused to stay seated during the ride, so other pictures will be without them. I've looked for alternatives to the buckets that would be more minifig-friendly, but in the end I decided to keep them.

How it looks from the bottom:

The mechanism is pretty straightforward: the motor drives the center part, the gear that makes the actuator go up or down. The wheel itself gets it movement from the 12-tooth gear that runs against the inside of the yellow arc (top left in the following picture):

An earlier version had a more complicated gearbox allowing me to choose between different speeds. The problem was however that I really needed maximum torque as the centerpiece consisting of the two yellow wheels creates quite a lot of friction, so I ended up with a simplified but better working version.

Without the wheel:

In action: 

 

Edited August 28, 2018 by m00se
Embedded video

[pagicence]

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Edited June 5 by pagicence

[Seasider]

Ride looks good and I love the Fairground Organ music during the video.

Shame you couldn’t get the minifigs to stay in the “cars”

[m00se]

The music is from Rollercoaster Tycoon.

 

11 hours ago, pagicence said:

Oh, and congratulations! You are the first one who has finished the ride.

Funfair/themepark rides have always been my favorite thing to build with Lego. So I got a bit of a head start as I was already building this one the moment TC14 was announced ;-)